(A note from me, Jocelyn: I am currently redesigning my site. My name will be added to my banner soon!)

Could it be that my last post was done in December of 2021? Almost 2.5 years ago? But I have not been idle! One project I recently completed was a painting done for my husband as a Christmas gift. 

For several years he has made me a custom, layered latté and served it to me in my location of choice around the house depending on what I'm engaged in doing. These are served in double-walled borosilicate mugs and arranged on a plate from his extensive collection of lovingly curated porcelain, stoneware or glass plates. A special spoon and an almond biscotti are carefully placed (parallel to one another) alongside the mug. A while back I thought about painting a collection of the plates alone on a canvas because they are so decorative. Shortly before Christmas in 2023 I decided I wanted to include a latté in a composition with the plates. The painting was done in acrylic because I wanted it to dry quickly and have a flat, contemporary character. 

On the left is my first composition idea. But when I added color to the very small pen and ink drawing, the mug looked silly to me because the color seemed to make it look like it was floating above the plane depicting the plates.

On the right is my revised repositioning of the elements. The plates I chose to use represent only a few of the now-extensive collection. Some day I will count them! Within the collection are several sets of three identical plates. These are used for my beloved little Drawing Group whose projects are shown primarily in my posts in Curry Powder, my everyday life topics blog. 

Below is the completed painting (February, 2024). It was a good challenge for me to work with a random kind of composition. Shifting the elements required modifications, and a lot of color mixing was needed to match the actual plates. The painting now hangs in the barista's custom-designed prep area downstairs.

12" x 24", acrylic paint on canvas